Food Costs Down According to Survey

Phoenix, AZ – The latest quarterly survey of food prices shows costs are down,at least a little bit. The Arizona Farm Bureau Federation reportsits market basket of 16 basic items is now $46.48, down more than$2 from the same period three months earlier, though it remainshigher than last year. A couple of items appear to be helping todrive down the costs. Topping that list is sliced deli ham, wherethe cost has dropped by more than 20 percent. Farm Bureauspokeswoman Peggy Jo Goodfellow said that may simply be amarketing decision

(It could be that our pork industry has decided to run somespecials to get interest back on buying ham. Now that pricingoverall has been down a little.)

Goodfellow said the Farm Bureau also found a big drop in theprice of flour. She said this sharp price decrease also appearsto be a conscious decision by processors to move the product whenthe supply was getting high. But Goodfellow said they're notlimiting their efforts to lowering prices.

(I noticed some of the stores even had on the shelves a littleholder and it had recipe cards, something to use that flour, someway to generate interest in people not buying the processed itemsfrom the bakery but actually baking and using flour.)